Wheel



' Much 23,1926.

w. l. RcpERs. JAR

"'HEBL rima Das. 22, 1924 Patented Mar. 23, 1926.

. UNITED vs'rali-is f PATENT lorries. f

WALTER IRVING RODGERS, JR., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNA- TIONAL MOTOR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, NQY., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

WHEEL.

Application filed December 22, 1924. Serial No. 757,308.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, WALTER IRVING ROD- GERS, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, of the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVheels, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

This invention has for its object to provide a wheel which shall have all the advantages of a wooden wheel of the artillery type for motor vehicles and none of the disadvantages inherent in such wheel construction. The weakest part of wooden wheels of the artillery type is the felloe in which the grain of the wood of necessity runs parallel with the side of the wheel which is subject to shrinkage or splitting with the grain with consequent loosening of the spokes. According to the present invention advantage is taken of the superior strength of wood in the direction of its grain by forming a disc wheel composed of' a plurality of wooden sections wherein the grain extends radially. Such a wheel has all the advantages of a. steeldisc wheel with the added advantage of that greater degree of resiliency afforded by the wood. The design also lends itself to offsetting for adaptation of tires of the true balloon type. The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodi ment thereof and in which:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of the wheel according to the present invention, parts being' removed or broken away in the interest of clearness.

Figure Q'is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane indicated by the line 2 2 in Figure l and looking in the direction of the arrows' and showing particularly the manner of securing the wooden disc portion to the hub.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the vehicle wheel is rcomposed of a plurality of wood sections a of the shape generally of a segment of an annulus and havingplane proximate edges a which are disposed in abutting relationship when the sections a are disposed about the hub.

While many hub constructions may be availed of in the adaptation of a wheel according to the present invention there has been illustrated in Figure 2 a hub b formed outwardly thereof with a flange b and a seat b2, the 'blocks of wood being disposed upon the seat and clamped against the liange b by means of a cooperating flange c formed on a sleeve c which is adapted to slip over the hub to rest against'the inner face of the wooden blocks t and maintained in clamping engagement by means of bolts or the like passing through appropriate apertures b3, c2 in the respective lianges and through appropriate holes a2 bored in the wooden blocks. Circumferentially of the series of blocks and engaging the outer marginal surfaces thereof there is disposed a rim d which may be shrunk there-on or secured thereto in any conventional manner. 'This rim may be provided with suitable apertures CZ registering with apertures a3 in the block for the reception of bolts e serving as locking means for the demountable rim c of a pneumatic' tire. v

Preferably the outer portions of the blocks are offset as at a4 whereby the rim engaging portion of the wheel is shifted outwardly with respect to the hub. Such a construction not only lends itself to the application of brake drums but is also Vadvantageous .in connection with the use of pneumatic tires of the true balloon type since by so off-settingl the rim balloon tires may be used withyout the rearrangement or reconstruction of proximate elements of the vehicle.

It will thus be seen that a wooden wheel has been provided which is more resilient than steel wheels, takes advantage of the use of wood along the line of its greatest strength and permits advantage tobe taken of various accessories which are fast becoming standard equipment in motor vehicles. Various modifications may be made in the form taken by the hub and the type of tire carried with the wheel as well as the means for securing the same thereto and no limitation is intended except as indicated in the appended claim.

lVhat- I claim is:

In a vehicle wheel, in combination, a hub formed with a flange, a plurality o' Wood and eiainp the Wood sections thereseetionsarranged in juxtaposition therebetween, and a rim shrunk on eircurnfer- 10 about With the grain 0i' the sections runentially about the Wood sections to receive a ning substantially radially thereof, the rim demountahie rim for resilient tires.

portions of said'wood sections being of in- This speoilication signed this 17 day of creased thickness and oft-Set With respect to December A. D. 1924:.

the hub portions thereof, a sleeve formed with a ange, bolts to engage the ianges TALTER IRVING RODGERS, JR. 

